Danny Wolfe, a 38-year-old computer draftsman, gave up regular spit tobacco and has been using Copenhagen tobacco pouches for several years. He spits out the juice; it gives him heartburn. "It's the same product, just packaged differently. It doesn't get in your teeth. It doesn't have the mess," says Wolfe, who was sick of smoking outside his Morgantown office. "You're not quitting anything. You're replacing."

Snus is also popular with hunters, who try to avoid scent detection by their prey, and with coal miners, who work in underground mines where the smallest spark can trigger an explosion. I find that more rednecks use it," Wolfe says. "I won't lie to you about that."

Comments from David Howard (Howardd1@RJRT.com), the Reynolds spokesman: "There's no secondhand smoke. There's no spitting. We see it as a win-win. It's also in line with company strategy. We're moving toward becoming a total tobacco company."

Howard denies suggestions that Reynolds targets underage users. He says it's selling best among adult male smokers and moist snuff users. "It didn't quite get as much consideration among female adult smokers just because it's different," he concedes. "They're a little more hesitant. But obviously we think that with continued communication with all adult smokers, they'll come to try it."